Thursday, January 8, 2009

Some time ago, I downloaded a pack of web templates consisting of more than a few dozen templates and found that each of these templates was individually zipped. So I was facing a task of unzipping some 60+ zip files. I never completed it and even after months, I still have more than 40 files yet to be opened. If you have ever found yourself in such a situation, then you must get a copy of ExtractNow.

ExtractNow is a free file archiving tool with one key advantage, among several - it enables you to quickly extract multiple archived files with just one click.

Simply drag and drop archive files into the program’s window or add them via a right-click menu. You can even drag whole folders into the application and it will automatically add only archive files contained within it and leave the rest. (You can also apply file exclusion filters under the settings option). Click on Extract and it will extract all archive files in one process. Besides, ExtractNow is real fast. I have definitely found it faster than WinRar and WinZip.

ExtractNow’s utility does not end there. Take a look at the Settings. This is what the Destination tab reveals.

As you can see, there are additional options like adding the folder structure of the archive file, overwriting files or creating a folder name of the file within the archive. I haven’t seen such customization options in a zip utility before.

The Post Extraction options are perhaps the most useful. You can configure the program to open the extracted folder immediately upon completion of extraction, delete the archived file, move them to a specified location (this will save time in “house-keeping”) or simply close the program.

ExtractNow is one of the most resourceful archive program I have seen so far. It can’t replace your default archive application because it can’t create archives; it can only extract it. But if you use an archive application predominately for opening archives, I see no reason why it can’t be used as your default archive handling application.